Most of us think of LinkedIn as a great place to put up your profile and get found by potential future employers. Yet, according to Nelly Ndonye, LinkedIn Marketing Specialist based in Nairobi, Kenya, LinkedIn is so much more than that. In our August edition of Unthinkable Coffee Break, Nelly broke down for us the four verticals that LinkedIn has.

Talent

This is based on the old model on what LinkedIn used to be, and what most of us know LinkedIn for. This vertical is where you put up your profile for the benefit of recruiters who will come to LinkedIn to look for potential employees. Over the years, this vertical has been enriched with endless features. Now recruiters can also put up jobs and people can apply directly on the platform, and the technology allows recruiters to easily sift through applications and find their ideal candidates. 

As a candidate now you are able to see how you compare against other people who have applied for the same position. You can also as a candidate set up an alert for particular jobs that you are looking for. And that’s just the tip of the ice berg

Sales Navigator

This vertical allows people who are in sales and marketing to make the right contacts or get in touch with the people that they are looking for. This vertical allows you to get in touch with procurement officers and even CEO’s of companies that you might be interested in working with.

There are various ways of searching for them. You can search by country, by industry, by job role and/or by company. Through LinkedIn you can send emails to these people. You can start a conversation with them and keep it going from there.

Marketing Solutions

This vertical enables companies and brands to expand their reach. LinkedIn has seven core advertising units and products. That number multiplies when you go to the different types of advertising formats. The best thing about this vertical is unlike other social media platforms you can narrow down to your target customers hence get more return for your buck. If your business is for instance looking for startups or business travellers, you can actually target these particular people through the advertising formats. The tools can be a bit daunting though, so be patient or get a digital marketing specialist to help you out.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn bought out the online learning platform Lynda.com back in 2015, and rebranded it to LinkedIn Learning. This platform was mostly used for training in digital marketing, but has since been expanded to offer training in software, creative, and business skills. It offers businesses and individuals a chance to learn more to better themselves and grow their skills.

So next time you log on to LinkedIn, be sure to utilise all that it has for your benefit.

Nelly Ndonye was a guest on Un.thinkable Coffee break, our monthly talk show on future skills which are changing the world as we know it.

Watch the recording below